


Death Is Not a Dealbreaker

by orphan_account



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Game Over Timeline, M/M, you can interpret this to be pale or flushed or monogamous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-02
Updated: 2015-12-02
Packaged: 2018-05-04 12:13:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5333714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Love doesn’t die with death. Love is like liquid; when it pours out, it seeps into others’ lives. Love changes form and shape. Love gets into everything. Death doesn’t conquer all; love does. Love wins every single time. Love wins by lasting through death. Love wins by loving more, loving again, loving without fear.” <br/>― Kate O'Neill</p>
            </blockquote>





	Death Is Not a Dealbreaker

“I’m scared,” The words tasted bitter against his tongue, not fitting in his mouth quite right, “I’m fucking terrified, Karkat.”

Karkat could only offer comfort of the verbal variety, speaking as quietly as his quickly escalating anxiety would allow. His fingers tapped relentlessly against his legs, stressing the fabric and making a sad scratching noise when his hand shook too hard. Blood pumped in his ears, making hearing harder than any obstacle thus far. 

“You know she didn’t mean what she said. I’m sure it was a false vision she pulled out of her ass due to her consistent intoxication, rather than a legitimate prediction. I’m not going to die on you.” Nothing could stop the fearful crack of his voice on the sixth to last word.

Dave wanted to reach out and hold onto Karkat, however the overwhelming panic coursing through his veins made physical contact feel uncomfortable and wrong. Instead he wrung his hands in his lap, too distracted mumbling under his breath, in an attempt to relieve stress, to form an actual response. Frustrated tears built up along his lashline and he blinked rapidly behind the tinted lenses of his glasses to dissipate them before they began noticeable. He instinctively cleared his throat and sucked in a deep breath to stop the impending fit of sobbing building beneath his tonsils. 

“I’ve got your back, and you’ve got mine. Remember? We’re the best of bros and some bullshit idea from your littermate’s alcohol infested mind can’t break that up.” Desperation was becoming upsettingly evident in Karkat’s voice.

“I can’t just let you die. I won’t just let you die. Do you understand how much I fucking care about you?! You mean the world to me, Karkat, and that means that if you’re in danger, I have to step up to the plate for once and help!” Dave’s voice was raised to the gray area between shouting and speaking. 

“I’m scared too! I’m so incredibly terrified of wherever the fuck I’d go! The dream bubbles are gone, so where the hell am I going if I die?” Weakness took the wheel, filling every syllable of his words with fear and pain, “I don’t want to leave you here, because I know how much it’ll hurt. I don’t ever want to cause you that much pain.” 

“What’re you gonna do, hm? Tell Death where he can stick it, put your middle fingers in the air, and step out of the neverending medium of death? Be sure to let me know how that works out for you.”

“I fucking will. I’ll shove my favorite pair shoes up Death’s stone cold asshole and fly my sorry ass back here, because I’m promising right now that when we win, it’s you and me until you get sick of it.”

“With your luck, you’ll be resting in pieces before we get close to being free of this shit. S’not like it even matters anymore. We can’t win this time.” Unintentional malice spiked Dave’s tone.

Karkat flinched, eyebrows pulling together and hands pushing on the cushions of the sofa to stand up before he’d fully processed the words. His sneakers caught on the coffee table momentarily, not that he could see where he was going through the inconvenient tears that finally made an appearance. His hands came up to harshly wipe them away, only succeeding in smearing them across the bridge of his nose and all the way to his hairline. Something akin to pure distress crossed his eyes before being obscured by tears again.

“This isn’t the alpha timeline anymore, is it?” Voice clouded by tears, he directed his full attention to Dave, “We’re all going to die and there’s not a fucking thing we can do to prevent it.”

Dave’s silence was more than enough of an answer. He couldn’t even find the words to apologize, or even comfort Karkat. Sensory overload kicked in and he was left absolutely powerless to the situation. 

Karkat was down the hall and into his room with the door locked before anything could be resolved. Even from down the hall and a few rooms over, the sound of him taking out the anger and sadness on his belongings was very audible to Dave. Things shattered, cracked, and thumped against the cement wall. Karkat cried and yelled and babbled in his room, only being able to feel angry beyond control for a few minutes before the flame igniting his rage burned out. 

His knees hit the carpet before the rest of him and he stayed there, burying his sorrows in the collar of his sweater. By the time he was all cried out, he was tired and cold. With more hesitation than necessary, he went back into the common room. Part of him was begging any god listening that Dave was still there, doing something normal, while the other was hoping he’d gone away too.

Dave, predictably, had gotten comfortable on the sofa, listening to music to drown out everything around him. Understandably, he was quite surprised when Karkat joined him, leaning against him with a majority of his weight. Assuming there was something to be said, his music was returned to his syllendex. 

After a while of silence, Karkat spoke up.

“You know that I’m beside you, no matter the circumstances, right? I won’t leave you behind.” 

“You know, it really sounds like you’re trying to confess your undying love to me right now.” Dave joked, looking down at him.

“Why would I confess something we were already aware of?” 

Silence overtook the room again. The two lied on the sofa together, holding on for dear life as if a loose grip would tear them apart. The only actual sound either of them made was the occasional sniffle and corresponding kiss on the head. After nearly an hour of clinging to each other like half conscious koalas, Karkat broke the comfortable silence again.

“Do you think the alpha timeline’s version of me loves the alpha timeline’s version of you the way I love you?” He asked, voice just above a whisper.

“I hope so, because I’m almost positive I love you way too much for it to not bleed into other timelines and versions of me.”

“I don’t want this to end.”

“This as in our gay ass cuddling sesh, or this as in living the way we are right now?”

“Both, I guess,” Karkat’ voice trailed off for a moment, “I don’t want to stop associating the sight of you as a sign of safety.”

“I make you feel safe?”

“You make me feel like nothing can hurt us, because you’ll fucking destroy anything that tries just by looking at it.”

“Are you insinuating that you have to stop thinking that way?”

“Do I?”

“You never have to. I’ll protect you until I can’t physically stand between you and the enemy. Understood?”

“Understood.”


End file.
